Pakistan v Australia, 1st T20I: Preview

Revenge would be the one thing on Pakistan's mind when they take on Australia in the first of the two-match T20 series. After suffering defeat in a tense finish against Australia in the semi-final of the World T20, Pakistan would be hoping to give back some when they face the Kangaroos in Edgbaston. The two T20 games might act as an opportunity for both teams to assess each others' strengths and weaknesses, considering the 2 Tests lined up for them in a short while.

Pakistan are coming to England after suffering an early exit from the Asia Cup. Despite their ouster from the tournament, the Afridi-led outfit came up with some spirited performances, giving the team immense confidence. Afridi's return to form with two brilliant centuries is a morale booster for the sub-continent side while youngster Umar Akmal's impressive performances in the practice games in England along with useful contributions from the rest of the batters like Salman Butt, Shahzaib Hasan and Shoaib Malik gives Pakistan the ideal opportunity to gain an upper-hand against the Aussies.

Shoaib Akthar's return to the T20 scheme of things adds more fire power to the pace department which already has the likes of Mohammad Aamer and Umar Gul. To add to that, presence of spinners such as Ajmal, Malik and Afridi further strengthens the bowling section which has always been Pakistan's main muscle.

Australia, on the other hand, are going through some testing times. A series loss to England, especially one where the series is already lost in the first three games, never does well to the team's morale. But the Aussies being the fighters that they are, came back well by beating England in the final two ODIs. Batting, which was the main let-down for the Australians in the first three ODIs, improved considerably well during the last two games. Michael Clarke came up with a laborious 99 against England in the 4th ODI while Michael Hussey found some form in the final ODI. Their batting is further strengthened with the hard-hitting David Warner coming back to open in the T20 matches.

Bowling was the main strength for the Australians during the ODI series and it was the bowlers like Ryan Harris and Shaun Tait who inflicted the maximum damage on the English. Although Australia would be mulling the loss of Harris due to a knee injury, the return of Mitchell Johnson and Dirk Nannes as well as the current form of Shaun Tait would be reassuring for the team. Pakistan need to be wary as the team from Down Under would go at them by the throat to make up for a disappointing series loss to England.

Numbers Game:

3: The number of fifties scored by Kamran Akmal against Australia in T20Is, which is the most by a Pakistani.

4: The number of T20Is played between Australia and Pakistan in neutral venues. Both teams have won two games each.

Sound Bytes:

We've got a good bunch that have been able to rotate in and out of the side, whether it's an injury or not, they've been able to rotate very well: Mitchell Johnson, referring to the bowling department, which has been hampered by injuries to key players.

For the last 50 years our bowling has been our main weapon and that won't change. We have the talent and I'm sure the youngsters will come good soon: Shahid Afridi, confident of the batsmen performing, despite bowling being their main strength.